Ballymore band need €60,000
CONCERT HALL NEEDS TO BE INSULATED
MEMBERS of the Ballymore Eustace Concert Band played in Laragh over the May Bank Holiday weekend to raise funds for the band.
The band members arrived at the Laragh car boot sale in the Brockagh Centre and set up their pitch in glorious sunshine.
The musicians have begun a massive fundraising campaign to insulate their band hall and require over €60,000 to future-proof the band’s historic home.
The band has over 60 members, aged from six to 86, between the main band and the junior band. During the cold winter months, the players endure very uncomfortable conditions during their long rehearsals.
Eamonn Deegan from Poulaphuca, who has been a member of the band for 65 years and travelled to the US to play, said he ‘wasn’t used to playing in such fine conditions’ as in Laragh.
During the performance, tuba player Ian Backhouse from Knockananna was selling raffle tickets for the band’s forthcoming monster raffle which has in excess of 60 prizes, including flying lessons, hotel stays, concert hall tickets, cash prizes and vouchers for local business to name but a few.
€60,000 is a colossal amount to raise but the band members believe that communities pulling together can get the job done. Musicians from all over Leinster play with this award-winning band, which is heading to Clonakilty in July for the South of Ireland Band Championships. The band can be contacted at wolfetoneband@gmail.com.